Travellers leave 67 tonnes of junk after car park stay

Travellers left a council with a £9,000 clean-up bill after dumping 67 tonnes of rubbish in just 22 days.

Despite being served with an eviction notice after three days, they remained on site for almost a month – meaning it took workers at Lewisham council several days to clear up their mess.

The group also burned open fires in the car park in Sydenham, south-east London, melting the surface which will cost thousands to replace.

Resident Adrian Barnard said he was ‘horrified’ by the debris, which included toilets, fridges and wardrobes.

‘It’s outrageous that they are allowed to get away with it,’ he added.

The travellers arrived in 20 caravans on October 20 but were served with an eviction notice for trespassing and asked to leave by October 23. However, they stayed put until November 11 – meaning they were on site for 22 days.

A council spokesman confirmed 67 tonnes of waste had been removed at a cost of £8,700 and said it had ‘taken steps’ to prevent trespassing.

These included repairing a height restriction barrier and placing concrete sleepers at the entrance to the lower car park, he explained.

‘It is money the council has had to spend – money that we could do with spending on other things, particularly in a time of budget cuts,’ he added.

‘This is a necessary expenditure but one we have reluctantly had to do.’

But many residents were still fuming over the mess.

Barry Hanson, 38, asked: ‘Why the hell should the council and taxpayers pay for it all to be cleaned up?’